Dr. Charles Fleischner, MD is poised to serve as the chief medical officer of Ketamine Health and Wellness, opening soon in Teaneck. He brings 15 years of experience in emergency medicine to the center, including the use of ketamine in the emergency department setting, used in low doses and with high efficacy for anesthesia and pain management. The new infusion center will enlarge the range of ketamine use to treatment-resistant depression, post-traumatic stress, anxiety and chronic pain. Relatively recent applications to the use of ketamine, these conditions have been historically and chronically resistant to traditional approaches, with both limited and disappointing short or long term effects. Fleischner also noted that ketamine holds great promise in the treatment of opioid addiction.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is on the verge of approving a new application of ketamine for other conditions than those for which it was initially approved in the early 1970s, and this past March, 2019, as a nasal spray.
The Ketamine Health and Wellness Center comes with Dr. Fleischner’s pledge to provide, through the use of ketamine, the promotion of mental wholeness using the most effective and advanced methods now available. “We have created an exceptional environment that provides an extremely high level of care and unparalleled service to the community,” according to Dr. Fleischner.
To the issue of service and patient care, he is especially passionate in describing the environment the treatment center has created to facilitate best practices. They have taken extraordinary measures to anticipate and prepare proactively for the various responses to treatments. The seasoned staff of specialized health care professionals work with patients in a thoughtfully designed environment of calm quiet, with every consideration for the comfort and confidence of each and all patients. Since most of the patients likely to be candidates for ketamine infusion have exhausted almost or every other option; the medical team understands that they will also arrive with a level of frustration.
Disappointment on the part of patients and their families is pervasive with treatment resistant depression and chronic pain. Often chronic pain patients are also feeling isolated and depressed, because their ability to participate in the usual activities of life have become so compromised due to pain. Treatment plans here are designed with great care and compassion, and with focused attention to the spectrum of mental, physical and religious needs and conditions. The professionals at the center, “see ourselves as partners in the ongoing goal of helping patients achieve true mental wholeness.” Further, “This attitude permeates everything we do- from how a patient is greeted at the door to the décor on the walls.”
The center also answers to an additional and important calling. Dr. Fleischner’s strong sense of professional responsibility expands beyond the patients of the center, to the global population of patients who suffer as well as professionals who treat depression and other resistant conditions. To wit, the Ketamine Health and Wellness treatment center has already designated a number of dedicated staff members to the endeavor of ketamine research. Since ketamine infusion will be so new to the medical treatment arena, Fleischner is committed to the advancement of evidence about its efficacy. That means that treatment administered and treatment outcomes will become part of an essential data base that will serve as a roadmap for the future in perfecting the use of ketamine in treating these recalcitrant and resistant conditions.
“We believe that patients deserve more, and we are willing to go above and beyond to help our patients experience life anew.” The flagship center will be located at 175 Cedar Lane in Teaneck. For information about Ketamine Health and Wellness, contact [email protected].
By Ellie Wolf
